Well, in the last half hour I have had 5 medical cases on my front porch, only one of which is simple. While I enjoy being challenged, I often struggle with feeling completely inadequate for the task at hand. One of these such cases is a girl named Mantene who is now 10 years old, but has the size of a 7-8 year-old. According to her family, she has had trouble with periodic bouts of fever and abdominal pain, along with continual abdominal distension ever since she started eating solid food. These bouts happen every few weeks. She is presently on my porch, and she seems on the verge of tears. It breaks my heart that any child should suffer with ongoing pain like this, but her parents have taken her to several hospitals and have not recieved any answers. I am trying to help, but have no lab, no medicines (except motrin and peptobismol) and my only reference books are "Where There Is No Doctor" ( not enough info for this) and "Manson's Tropical Diseases" (too much info). Lord - HELP!!!!
Roy is feeling better, but still tires quickly. The kids are all healthy - for that I am SO grateful!
More than that, we serve a God who CAN! - and I am so grateful that none of this is about me, or what I can or can"t do - it is all about HIM!

I decreased the snake population of Sierra Leone by one again today! I know that it is not much... but one step at a time, right!!! It is always disconcerting when you find one in a place that you don't expect. I am always careful in places that I know that they like to be, under rocks and pieces of wood, in tall grass, etc. However, this one I found on the porch, out in the open, trying to squirm under the water barrel. I solemnly informed him, in no uncertain terms, that THIS WAS NOT HIS ROOM! I think he figured it out! :} I have to laugh though. See, in this part of the world there are a lot of different types of snakes, and all of them except two are poisonous. So the only good snake is a dead snake...literally! And, they are VERY good - quite tasty! Unfortunately, this one was too small to be worth the work, so instead Jeepy (the genet) gets a feast. Oh well, I would gladly forego the eating of snake in favor of not finding a big one on my front doorstep.
I found the snake about 15 minutes after my friend Namissa and I had been chatting on that same area of porch for about an hour. During our chat, the guinea fowl kept running through, acting strangely. I am wondering now if she was dealing with the snake during that time, in which case, God really protected us. Namissa is such an inspiration to me in so many ways, not the least of which is her complete trust in her God. She has an aunt who has had a severely prolapsed uterus for over a year. Namissa , in a time when many families are financially struggling, is selling her groundnut harvest to pay for her aunts surgery. I told Namissa that I admired the way that she was taking care of her aunt without ever a word of complaint. She looked at me, surprised, and said, "Why would I complain? God won't give me any load that is too much! He is the one taking care of me and everything that I need. He gives to me to help my aunt too! I don't have to worry for tomorrow."
Point taken!
I hope I can remember this tomorrow, too!

Roy is doing much better, thanks to all of you who were praying. He was able to be up almost all day today and was even able to tolerate riding in to town on a motorcycle to get some parts for the generator. I was really glad of this, mostly because I want to see him well, but also because it would have otherwise been necessary for me to buy the parts and I am fairly certain that would not have ended well. It has been two weeks since he started feeling sick and he says he feels like he is at about 85%. Praise God for his healing - I am convinced that it is only God that has allowed him to heal as quickly as he has. Praise God for the power of prayer!

I have to add an addendum to my prior note. I like to "collect" funny sights. For example, as a family we have a contest to see who sees the funniest tee-shirt being worn. Remember that most of the clothing that is sold here comes from around the world and many people don't even know the meaning of the print on the tee-shirt they are wearing - this leads to some irony. We saw a young man of about 30 wearing a tee-shirt that said "THIS IS WHAT A REAL GRANDMA LOOKS LIKE". Another contest we have going is the most unusual sight on a motorcyle. I saw three men, plus the driver (making four total) on ONE honda. The funniest part was that it was coming straight towards me and they all wanted to see what was ahead and so they were leaning a little to each side. From my perspective, it looked like a four-headed man on a motorcycle coming my way! I have also seen two men and a goat on a motorcycle! Well, contest continues - I'll keep you posted.

I went grocery shopping today - no big deal right? Well, I though of all of you as I was returning. See, Everything I buy has to come back with me on a motorcycle. So, I came back with a 50 lb. bag of flour perched on the handle bars in front of the driver, I had a back pack full of tin cans, etc and between us I clutched a 24 pack of Coke ( a nice splurge) and 30 eggs. Yes, you read correctly 30 eggs in a flat open carton with no lid, all slid into a plastic bag. Now, I do have to explain that this is not paved road that I am talking about here - it probably would not even be considered a road where you come from, so it was a challenge, but I am happy to say that I arrived at home with all 30 eggs still intact and not on my shirt. I was so pleased. Another successful trip to the grocery store!! What I did today is really nothing. When we first arrived in the country, we purchased full size mattresses in town and they were carried out to the Bible school on motorcycles. I have also seen queen sized wooden bed frames - yes frames being carried by the passenger on the back of a honda. Where there is a will there is a way! I just though you would enjoy this - I wish I could post a pic - Oh well!

Banana Blessings

Several weeks ago we bought a large stalk of bananas that were still green. The kids were dying to have bananas since it had been a while and were very frustrated and impatient. Even to me and the people here who are very accustomed to bananas and their rate of maturing, it seemed extremely slow. Now, just as Roy is getting better and I have another woman I am caring for how has been very sick and unable to eat, the bananas are ripening daily and to perfection... in fact, they are some of the best ones that we have had since we have been here, and that is saying something.
I am so grateful because banana and homemade bread are about the only things he can eat as of yet - God's timing truly is perfect. So often I am impatient and feel that He is taking too long. In my selfish viewpoint, I have the perfect idea of when things should happen ( which is usually right now) and perceive that God has let me down when He doesn't do things when I expect. And then, in the true perfection of God's will, all things come to "fruition" and ripen at the right time for the need. Why was I impatient again??? :) I have a funny feeling that the bananas are not going to run out until the need does.

Sorry for that last blog. Is there a rule about how long a blog can be, because I think I may have doubled it? Anyway, I just have to say that God is awesome and more than I can ask or imagine. Yesterday morning Roy woke up and actually ate a half of a banana and was able to drink without difficulty. Today, he even ate some bread and was able to move from his bed. I can't praise God enough. So, I guess this dependence thing really works! Gotta remember this tomorrow. :)